Boys volleyball: Competitively, Carmel stops Lake Zurich
It's all in good fun.
During every Carmel volleyball game, there's a competition within the competition.
As the Corsairs are vying for another win, they are also vying for bragging rights for the day.
Amongst of team full of big, powerful hitters, everyone is trying to be the biggest and the most powerful.
On Tuesday, middle hitter Michael Scott and outside hitter James Harvey punctuated Carmel's dominating 25-17, 25-21 win over visiting Lake Zurich with back-to-back thunderous 10-foot-line kills for the final two points of the match. It was a highly-charged, climactic end, but added ambiguity to the competition within the competition.
Both kills, Scott's from the middle for the 24th point in the second set and Harvey's on the right side for the 25th point, were equally impressive. But was one better than the other?
"I say we're even," said Scott diplomatically and with a smile. "But I think it's definitely going to be a competition throughout the season though.
"Whenever I see (Harvey) do something, I'm like, 'I've got to top that, I've got to do something better.' I think that kind of competition goes on throughout the team. But it's all in good fun."
The 6-foot-7 Scott, who is getting serious interest from multiple Division I schools, finished with 7 kills. And Harvey, who is 6-foot-2, had 6 kills.
Another big, tall hitter, Jackson Ptasienski, who is 6-foot-4, topped Carmel (6-3) with 8 kills.
"For me, when I see Mike (Scott) or anyone putting (a kill) right on the 10-foot line, I think that the next hit I do has got to be big too, so that people can remember that too.
"We have a lot of great hitters. We have a lot of big, tall guys who can get up and hit the ball."
Lake Zurich was having a tough time defending all of Carmel's hitting options.
The Bears could never get any traction and Carmel went on multiple runs, stringing four, five or more points together, often with big finishes from its big hitters.
"They (the Corsairs) hit harder than most kids we play," said Lake Zurich sophomore middle hitter Evan Bajerski, who had 2 kills and 2 blocks. "They run a fast offense and we just have to be better at getting there (and defending)."
Lake Zurich, which drops to 2-6, lost a lot of seniors from last year and is still trying to find its chemistry.
"We're still getting used to each other and we're still building confidence," Lake Zurich coach Lesly Ravenscraft said. "We're a young team with some inexperience and there's not one person taking charge yet. This is new for us. We're a work in progress. It's growing pains too."
Matt Amos led Lake Zurich with 4 kills while Bartosz Wielgos added 3 kills and DJ Young had 9 digs.
For Carmel, setter Austin James had 25 assists and Shayyne Henderson had 8 digs.
"We have some guys who are incredibly powerful," Carmel coach Kevin Nylen said. "We can have a very potent offense when we need to. It's just a matter of doing that consistently."